Manipulating the size distribution of supported gold nanostructures

Gold nanostructures, with a wide size distribution, are confined between a metal foil and the oxide substrate upon which they were formed. When heated the surface energy gradient between the oxide and foil results in a net migration of gold atoms from the nanostructure to the foil. With time, the nanostructures show a size reduction and a narrowed size distribution. The narrowing results from the formation of foil contact points with only the largest nanostructures, a characteristic which leaves small nanostructures intact while consuming larger ones. Also demonstrated is the size reduction of arrayed gold structures to nanoscale dimensions.

Manipulating the size distribution of supported gold nanostructures Journal Articles